Adaptive Driving Beam Headlighting System Glare Assessment

This report summarizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA’s) evaluation of existing European adaptive driving beam headlighting systems. “Adaptive Driving Beam" (ADB) is a type of adaptive front-lighting system that automatically enables upper beam headlamps and adapts their beam patterns to create a shaded area around oncoming and preceding vehicles to improve long-range visibility for the driver without causing discomfort, distraction, or glare to other road users. In recent years, Europe and Japan have begun to allow adaptive beam headlighting systems as optional equipment. Using Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) test procedure maneuver scenarios for ADB and glare limit values derived from current static beam pattern information in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, the amount of glare cast on other vehicles by ADB systems was assessed. Overall in these tests, ADB was shown to have the ability to dynamically adapt the headlamp beams to shade oncoming and preceding vehicles. However, in many cases, ADB illuminance levels exceeded that of lower beam mode in the location of other vehicles. In particular, tested ADB systems exceeded derived lower beam glare limit values in curve scenarios involving both the ADB-equipped vehicle and other vehicle moving, and in intersection scenarios. Some ADB systems were also unable to control glare to lower beam levels in scenarios involving a motorcycle. This effort was successful in objectively assessing the performance of European ADB headlighting systems. A comprehensive objective test procedure was achieved. The test procedure was developed based on driving scenarios from the ECE R48 test procedure and incorporated use of the glare limit values derived from existing static beam pattern requirements of FMVSS No. 108. Existing FMVSS No. 108 requirements and the work summarized here together can provide a basis for performance criteria and an objective test procedure for ADB headlighting systems.

• Record URL:
  http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash Avoidance/Technical Publications/2015/812174_LightingADB.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  Vehicle Research and Test Center, P.O. Box 37
  East Liberty, OH  United States  43319

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Mazzae, Elizabeth N
  • Baldwin, G H Scott
  • Andrella, Adam
  • Smith, Larry A
• Publication Date: 2015-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 201p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adaptive control; Evaluation; Glare; Headlamps; Test procedures
• Subject Areas: Highways; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01576280
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT HS 812 174
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 25 2015 4:17PM